News (Development / BSUK)

On Saturday 2 December, the BSUK development team in the North West Region held the second Manchester Indoor Softball Tournament of the year at Powerleague SoccerDome in Trafford, Manchester, with 16 teams attending from around the country.

Run the Bases is a newly-formed sport development organisation that aims to tackle gender inequalities in sport through softball, and one of the key people behind it is former UCLA softball player Tara Henry, currently resident in the UK and providing occasional coaching support for BSUK’s Academy Softball.

The North West Softball Series came to a climax on Saturday 16 September when the third and final tournament in the series was played at Parrs Wood School in Didsbury, Manchester, with nine teams in attendance on a mostly dry day.

The second annual Chichester Junior Fastpitch Tournament was played on Saturday 20 August at the Falcons’ home field in Oaklands Park, where three teams of players aged 13-16 battled it in a round-robin format.

Efforts to develop fastpitch softball in Manchester have been taking root over the past two years, but there still isn’t a fastpitch league or team in the North West. So it’s amazing news that five players from the region have been selected for the GB Under-19 Men’s Team that will compete in European Championships this summer.

BSUK has produced a Guide to Local and Social Media, written by Michael Jones of Redbacks Baseball & Softball, to help leagues, clubs and teams recruit and retain players and volunteers and promote the sports across the UK.

The Chichester Falcons Softball Club hosted a fastpitch tournament for players aged 13-16 on Sunday 21 August, the first tournament of its kind in the city, at the Falcons’ home field in Oaklands Park. Boys and girls came from around the UK to take part.